I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[disneedee]

We could both go for a CP companion fares and 220,000 points sounds nice. Or we could both go for a CIP. I'm not sure which way is in our favor at this point.
[/QUOTE]

i'd prioritize this with cip 1st because who knows how long that bonus will be available and sw if you don't have any other msr you really need. remember that you have to be 4/24 to do a cip and those points can be transfered to sw 1:1.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

I know some people don’t stray from this thread on the DIS - we obviously were following the Skyliner issue on Saturday night:

Interesting info from a WDWmagic poster named GymleaderPhil...
>>>>>>>>>

Here’s what I can confirm after speaking with a close source:​

​

Shortly after the Skyliner stopped due to the incident at the station, a guest or someone else onboard with them in one of the vehicles called 911. The guest was patched through to Reedy Creek as they were claustrophobic, hyperventilating, and had a history of seizures in the past. The maintenance team that was dispatched to assess what happened was stopped from doing any work until the guest was emergency evacuated as a result of emergency services in the ride path. Reedy Creek had major challenges locating the specific Guest since the vehicle identification number is only printed on the side of each cabin - not on the bottom. The vehicle itself was in a position that obstructed the view of the number as well as the low light conditions. Reportedly the operators also do not have a system in place to determine how many guests are onboard or if the vehicle is occupied at all.​

​

As a result of the delayed evacuation, other guests on board were overloading the emergency call button as well as the 911 operator if they had cell phones. My source is unsure how many other vehicles were evacuated by Reedy Creek, but I’m sure that each minute they were up there and seen doing so elicited more responses from other guests that may not have necessarily required it. People who were in no physical danger - just the many who were exhausted, hot, scared, hungry, needed a restroom, and some who did not speak English.​

​

Once the maintenance team resolved the issue and deemed it safe to do so, they slowly cycled out the Skyliner as this is the most efficient way to get people off any ride.​

​

From my source, it’s been a shared that the emergency kits on board some of the vehicles were previously opened or taken by guests earlier in the day who knew of their existence. Disney would have no way of knowing as It would be an operational nightmare to continuously check the contents of each vehicle throughout the day. They also would have had to come up with some way of locking them that did not impede proper usage. If the kits were not tampered with, they often did not have enough to supply the entire cabin.​

Wow....thanks for sharing......Don’t think I would of gone on it if I was claustrophobic...

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I think I've seen this discussed before, how many times do you need to use a SW CP for it to be "worth it"?

I see a few responses already but I’ll give you my quick answer. We just got the CP (I know, end of year unlike everyone else) because we have 2 flights, at least, planned for next year. Signed up for the SW performance biz (AF $199) and the Premier Biz (AF $99). So, OOP around $300. First flight booked with CP is $376. So in our case, 1 flight needed. All the points (140,000) and the rest of the free companion flights are just the cherry on top.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Ok, so since my travel eyes have been opened by all of you lovely people my plans just keep changing .

As of today it looks like we will be going to DC in the spring and WDW in the fall of 2020. 2021 plans include Italy and possibly one smaller trip. We have no problems meeting MSRs sadly (and yes paying them off every month). It's been a year since we started and we took it slow but I think it's time to ramp up some.

Goal #1 is our Italy flights. Really thinking Delta for those so I may be wanting Delta points soon.

For DC in the spring we will fly there with a credit from Alaska, was thinking SW home if we had points and CPs so that we would not need to dip into URs.

Could use SW points to WDW in November. SW doesn't offer nonstop for us there but again with points and CP it would be worth it for us to have a stop.

Could also use SW to position to the East Coast for Italy.

Keeping in mind though I'm buying tickets for 7 sometimes 8. I am 1/24, DH is 5/24 with two dropping off in the next month or so.

We could both go for a CP. 2 companion fares and 220,000 points sounds nice. Or we could both go for a CIP. I'm not sure which way is in our favor at this point.

Two biz cards for each of you would get you 280,000 points and 2 CPs if you can meet the MSR. And no adding to */24 count. Just sayin’

 

[mamathompson]

Two biz cards for each of you would get you 280,000 points and 2 CPs if you can meet the MSR. And no adding to */24 count. Just sayin’

I hadn't even thought about two biz cards

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Well that's great! So basically a few months after my CP expires I can go for it again. I guess I had it in my mind that changed awhile back and you couldn't get them concurrently anymore.

I think the bigger change is that you can’t have 2 personal cards at the same time.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

I hadn't even thought about two biz cards

Works great, just did it. DH got the Performance Biz on August 1, and the Premier Biz on October 1. Voila, 140,000 SW points and a CP!
(PS if you can use Great Southern Bank, you can fund at least one of those cards with an account there)

 

[Jax1023]

I currently have a companion pass- my son will take at least 7 round trip flights on it. And when our annual passes expire we’ll still have 6 months left on the cp and might slip in a weekend somewhere.

Most of the flights have been around $250- that’s a lot of savings.

I considered having p2 get a cp for 2020-2021, but at least 3 of the one way segments currently planned for 2020 are just me and the two kids and one of the trips is in mid January and we may not get it by then, depending on when statements close.

So I’m not sure it’s worth it for p2 next year.

 

[orangecuse]

How delayed is Amex delayed reporting? My gold card did come today! (They are listening...lol) but I noticed my statement closes in 3 days. Amex you so weird

 

[LB002]

Any tips on booking an Alaska cruise? My friend who we often travel with suggested an Alaska cruise for our Aug 2020 trip (looks like we are late to the party already!). We are open to an inside passage cruise from Seattle or a 1-way to/from Vancouver. Need something kid friendly since we have 5 kids between us. open to booking tips (points usage?), kid-friendly lines, etc. Thanks!

 

[mmmears]

Thank you for the comments. That's kind of a bummer. She's heard me talk about everything points and flying and staying places for free and wanted to get in on the action. We figured since she was sent a mailer she would be qualified. It looks like she is probably not going to get the card. I hope she's not too discouraged to try again for awhile.

How long would you suggest waiting to try for the CFU? I guess if she got that one, she could transfer the points to my UR accounts and I could book her tickets that way. At this point, she is still living at home, so I assume that would work.

I'm the wrong person to ask about when to apply, but I think others will help you with that. As for moving the points, that's what we are doing. I think it's hard to get those better cards as a first card. I know of young adults with very good salaries who have been denied the CSP and CSR recently. After the CFU, there's always getting a CIP (my DD and @wendow 's and a few others have done that). The total adds up to a nice amount of travel points.

 

[EACarlson]

How delayed is Amex delayed reporting? My gold card did come today! (They are listening...lol) but I noticed my statement closes in 3 days. Amex you so weird

Amex reports after your second statement.

 

[disneybirds]

Just thought I would report on our last trip to Universal/Disney/St Augustine using cc rewards. We used URs to book 2 nights at the Royal Pacific and (4) 2 Day P2P passes. We then upgraded the park passes for around $20 each to the lowest level AP. We definitely want to experience the Hagrid ride a few more times! We did the MNSSHP and paid for it with discounted DGCs. Spend the night in AKV in a standard studio on DVC points and had a pool view.

We then headed to St Augustine for 2 nights at the Embassy Suites directly on the beach. Used our $250 resort credit at the hotel. The hotel is very new and really nice. Serves a great breakfast and very light snacks/drinks for happy hour. You do get 2 chairs and an umbrella per room, but the waves were so rough we didn't venture down to the beach but once for a walk. There is public access on both sides of the hotel, but I didn't see many people on the beach. I would assume that it is probably more crowded in the summer. Here is the view from our room.

Love this hobby!!

 

[Alexle2007]

Well that's great! So basically a few months after my CP expires I can go for it again. I guess I had it in my mind that changed awhile back and you couldn't get them concurrently anymore.

That was just the CSP and CSR. SW remains unchanged.

 

[orangecuse]

Any tips on booking an Alaska cruise? My friend who we often travel with suggested an Alaska cruise for our Aug 2020 trip (looks like we are late to the party already!). We are open to an inside passage cruise from Seattle or a 1-way to/from Vancouver. Need something kid friendly since we have 5 kids between us. open to booking tips (points usage?), kid-friendly lines, etc. Thanks!

My parents have done 3 Celebrity Alaska cruises and loved it. However, I’d rate Celebrity as best for older kids (12+). I cruised them as a kid and they do have the mini golf, comedy, shows, pools, but none of the super flashy stuff. Its more buttoned up.

RCL is a good price point with ships that may include aqua shows, ice shows, flowrider, mini golf, slides, bumper cars, and more. I’d say again older kids but younger than Celebrity for sure (maybe 4+). Some ships may have toddler splash pads that allow swim diapers. These ships vary WIDELY so just check what ship they have over in Alaska carefully.

Carnival to me has a great relaxed vibe and awesome deck food. Fun comedy shows and some ships with bells and whistles like RCL.

IMO DCL is overpriced for Alaska when you factor in sales like RCL current kids sail free UNLESS you have really young kids who can’t really partake in many of the offerings of other ships. That doesn’t mean its not worth it of course if you are all Disney fanatics or just love DCL (worth is subject after all!), but the higher price point is not due to a better itinerary or anything.

I know some people love Princess for Alaska but I have no personal experience with that line!

You’ll have an awesome time no matter what!

 

[mmmears]

Any tips on booking an Alaska cruise? My friend who we often travel with suggested an Alaska cruise for our Aug 2020 trip (looks like we are late to the party already!). We are open to an inside passage cruise from Seattle or a 1-way to/from Vancouver. Need something kid friendly since we have 5 kids between us. open to booking tips (points usage?), kid-friendly lines, etc. Thanks!

We went with DCL (yeah it's more expensive). The thing I looked at carefully is the route. The ships that leave Vancouver go between a large island and the mainland and it's really, really pretty. The ones that leave Seattle don't. So, for me, I'd want that part of the Inside Passage included in the cruise. If you look at the maps you can see that some swing right around it and there's nothing to see that day. I can't advise you on other cruise lines since I haven't sailed them. My mom and her sibs took Princess to Alaska a few times and loved it, but they were all retired so I don't know what it's like with kids.

ETA - we went the first year DCL went there, and got a "kids sale free" deal with Disney (do they even do that nowadays?) which was great, but it was still expensive.

 

[Alexle2007]

Just thought I would report on our last trip to Universal/Disney/St Augustine using cc rewards. We used URs to book 2 nights at the Royal Pacific and (4) 2 Day P2P passes. We then upgraded the park passes for around $20 each to the lowest level AP. We definitely want to experience the Hagrid ride a few more times! We did the MNSSHP and paid for it with discounted DGCs. Spend the night in AKV in a standard studio on DVC points and had a pool view.

We then headed to St Augustine for 2 nights at the Embassy Suites directly on the beach. Used our $250 resort credit at the hotel. The hotel is very new and really nice. Serves a great breakfast and very light snacks/drinks for happy hour. You do get 2 chairs and an umbrella per room, but the waves were so rough we didn't venture down to the beach but once for a walk. There is public access on both sides of the hotel, but I didn't see many people on the beach. I would assume that it is probably more crowded in the summer. Here is the view from our room.

Love this hobby!!

View attachment 442296

Nice! Did they have the free breakfast and evening reception? How is the drive from Orlando? It looks like it is about 2 hours.

 

[Tellycopter]

Any tips on booking an Alaska cruise? My friend who we often travel with suggested an Alaska cruise for our Aug 2020 trip (looks like we are late to the party already!). We are open to an inside passage cruise from Seattle or a 1-way to/from Vancouver. Need something kid friendly since we have 5 kids between us. open to booking tips (points usage?), kid-friendly lines, etc. Thanks!

So we didn't have any young children with us but I went on a Norwegian Cruise Line cruise to Alaska this June and it was great! We were on the Bliss which is a newer boat and had a lot of fun! The entertainment was pretty good, there is laser tag and go karting on the ship as well as an arcade. The kids clubs also always seemed crowded which I take as a good sign!

 

[DisneyMandC]

Busy day today. Loaded another $600 on my Serve. I earned 27k URs with all the OD/OM and Staples deals last week, and I only did $400 at Staples haha. Love that CIC!

Looks like I will be taking the dog to the vet tomorrow... He's had skin issues ever since he got fleas at the beginning of August. The fleas are definitely gone now, and have been (believe me, ask me how many times a day my paranoid self checks him with a flea comb), but his skin is still messed up. He always has very sensitive skin and allergies anyways. Today I came home and he must have just scratched himself in one spot on his side all day until it bled Guess that can go to one of my MSRs I feel bad for him since he is clearly upset about it. I thought about getting him a cone of shame, but he's definitely been scratching it with one of his back legs, so I don't think that will help.

 

[afan]

Busy day today. Loaded another $600 on my Serve. I earned 27k URs with all the OD/OM and Staples deals last week, and I only did $400 at Staples haha. Love that CIC!

Looks like I will be taking the dog to the vet tomorrow... He's had skin issues ever since he got fleas at the beginning of August. The fleas are definitely gone now, and have been (believe me, ask me how many times a day my paranoid self checks him with a flea comb), but his skin is still messed up. He always has very sensitive skin and allergies anyways. Today I came home and he must have just scratched himself in one spot on his side all day until it bled Guess that can go to one of my MSRs I feel bad for him since he is clearly upset about it. I thought about getting him a cone of shame, but he's definitely been scratching it with one of his back legs, so I don't think that will help.

He could be allergic to fleas. Our neighbors dog was and had skin issues on his back but they were able to eventually get it to go away. I think they rescued him with the issue.